MacMini HTPC video stuttering?

[Mushkins]

I just purchased a midrange model 2014 Mac Mini (2.6Ghz processor, 8GB ram) and before I turn it into a full fledged HTPC I figured I'd test it out. Immediately ran into a dead-halt, project breaking issue.

When I navigate to my fileserver and open any of my video files in VLC, they stutter like a nightmare. 1080p ~1.5GB blu ray rips make it about 10 seconds then lock up for a few, like it's having issues buffering or streaming. 720p videos make it about 30 seconds before the same stutter happens. I tried MplayerX too which seems to stutter less but still does it.

Everything is wired GigE, I can transfer the same video file from the server to the local HD in a matter of seconds, and local playback is 100% without issue. Activity monitor isn't showing the CPU maxing out or anywhere close to network saturation, and there's nothing else going on bandwidth intensive on the LAN.

The same files opened the same way on any of my windows PCs play flawlessly, it's only the Mac Mini that stutters.

The only thing I can think of is that the fileserver is running Windows Server 2012 and OSX wants to pick a fight. Any ideas would be much appreciated before this thing ends up getting itself returned and replaced with a Win8.1 NUC.

 

[deanx0r]

I have had the exact same issue with my MBP. I stayed under Snow Leopard until Yosemite hit and had no problems networking with my WHS v1 server. After upgrading to Yosemite, network access has become a mess with stutters on videos and very low transfer rate even on gbE.

My aging WHS server is getting decommissioned for a Synology NAS, so I really haven't tried to resolve the issue. Before getting an Intel NUC, I recommend looking into a Raspberry pi 2 with openelec. It's a much cheaper alternative and the xbmc/kodi remote app for iOS/Android makes it a much better experience than trying to open files with VLC or Mplayer.

 

[Mushkins]

I kind of figured this was going to end up being a "lolmac doesn't want to play nice with windows because reasons" thing.

Guess i'll toss the Mini in the office and do my taxes on it or something, and plan to put a proper windows box in the home theatre. Having a media server is kind of pointless if I can't stream media from it, y'know?

 

[LoveMachine]

You may not really need the Windows/Nuc option. I dove into the hacked Chromebox/KodiBuntu world a few months ago, and being a Linux Noob it was a bit of a hassle to learn all the various things I need to do to get it configured the way I want it. But it's talking to my Win7 server wonderfully, occasionally taking a couple of seconds to buffer the start of a file, but otherwise it's great. There are ways of getting Netflix integrated into Kodi through an external launcher, too (as opposed to OpenElec). Works with a Harmony remote using a cheap WMC remote usb dongle, and even after a cheap wireless keyboard/mouse, the whole thing cost right around $200.

With a the higher cost of a NUC and a Windows license, you really only gain a little less setup time.

 

[dclive]

I just purchased a midrange model 2014 Mac Mini (2.6Ghz processor, 8GB ram) and before I turn it into a full fledged HTPC I figured I'd test it out. Immediately ran into a dead-halt, project breaking issue.

When I navigate to my fileserver and open any of my video files in VLC, they stutter like a nightmare. 1080p ~1.5GB blu ray rips make it about 10 seconds then lock up for a few, like it's having issues buffering or streaming. 720p videos make it about 30 seconds before the same stutter happens. I tried MplayerX too which seems to stutter less but still does it.

Everything is wired GigE, I can transfer the same video file from the server to the local HD in a matter of seconds, and local playback is 100% without issue. Activity monitor isn't showing the CPU maxing out or anywhere close to network saturation, and there's nothing else going on bandwidth intensive on the LAN.

The same files opened the same way on any of my windows PCs play flawlessly, it's only the Mac Mini that stutters.

The only thing I can think of is that the fileserver is running Windows Server 2012 and OSX wants to pick a fight. Any ideas would be much appreciated before this thing ends up getting itself returned and replaced with a Win8.1 NUC.

What happens with Kodi and Plex Client?